


Homestuck 2.0: SBURB Gamma

by infiniteReality2_0



Category: Homestuck
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-24
Updated: 2015-06-24
Packaged: 2018-04-05 23:14:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 20
Words: 14,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4198722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/infiniteReality2_0/pseuds/infiniteReality2_0
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A girl and eleven of her friends decide to play a game and make a new universe. Little did they know the game's creator has other plans. Growing up is hard enough as it is without two opposing forces fighting over you.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Rain Strider

**Author's Note:**

> **This version of SBURB is much different from the original ones, as it is meant to be, and I am lazy a lot of the time so not everything will be explained though I will answer any questions as they arise.**

Rain stood up from the cold metal she'd been laying on and took a look around. A thick fog covered everything but she could just make out the shapes of gears, turning slowing, through it. She realized that the one she was standing on was spinning as well. Looking around, she wondered what to do but a sudden flash of light appeared and something floated down in past of her face and to the ground.

She picked it up to see it was a piece of paper with a message and a necklace attached to it.

The message read:

I HOPE I DIDN'T GET A TOTAL FUCKASS AND THAT YOU'LL BE ABLE TO FIGURE OUT WHAT YOU NEED TO DO FIRST. YOU HAVE ONE OF TWO OPTIONS: ONE, CLIMB UPWARD TO MOVE ON TO THE NEXT LAND, OR, TWO, CLIMB DOWN AND ACTIVATE YOUR LAND SO IT WILL BE AT ITS MAXIMUM CAPACITY.  
-CG

"What an asshole." she says, pocketing the note and looking at the charm on the necklace. It was a gear that had the zodiac symbol for Cancer engraved on it. Putting it around her neck, Rain looks to the two paths in front of her, one going down, the other up. "It's only the beginning, I don't need to go down until I've gone as far up as possible." she figures, making her way across the gear and carefully climbing onto the next.

Rain eventually reached the small portal to the next land. She reaches through, and climbs up through it, ending up in a forest with pink-leaved trees. A calming light washed over her and the fatigue she felt from climbing disappeared. Looking around the clearing, she saw a tall tree in the distance that had what looked like the next portal above it.

"Fuck." she mutters under her breath. Suddenly, a sharp ping from her headset tells her there's someone wanting to talk. She touches the button on the side. "Go for temporalCancer. What do you want?" She begins to move forward toward the tree.

"Hey, Rain, I think I might be headed your way."

"I refuse to answer to that name, vibrantVirgo. I want nothing to do with you right now, I have A LOT of climbing to do."

"You're no fun! So, where are you right now?"

"None of your damn business. I've got to go. TC out." Rain hit the button again to end the call and kept moving forward. Ezra was the bane of her existence, the sole thing she despised above all else, and he had the biggest, creepiest crush on her. Once again, the ping sounded and Rain jabbed the button. "LISTEN, ASSHOLE, I DO NOT NEED ANY OF YOUR SHIT RIGHT NOW YOU DISGRACE TO THE HUMAN NAME! IF I HAVE TO PERSONALLY HUNT YOU DOWN AND RIP YOUR INTESTINES OUT THROUGH YOUR THROAT I WILL BUT YOU'LL PROBABLY ENJOY IT BECAUSE YOU'RE A REALLY SICK AND TWISTED PERSON!"

"WELL, FUCK."

"Wait, who is this?"

"I'M YOUR GUARDIAN, CARCINOGENETICIST. WHO THE FUCK WERE YOU GOING ALL BLACK ON?"

"I'm sorry, black? carcinoGeneticist? Guardian?"

"YES, YES, AND FOR FUCK'S SAKE, YES."

"Okay, I'm cool with that. So what's up, CG?"

"FIRST OF ALL, KUDOS ON MAKING THE RIGHT CHOICE. ANY OF THE OTHER FUCKASSES THE OTHER GUARDIANS ARE CONTROLLING WOULD'VE WENT DOWN LIKE THE LITTLE SHITS THAT THEY ARE. SECONDLY, I'M SURE YOU FIGURED THIS OUT BUT I'M REQUIRED TO TELL YOU THAT YOU HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE PORTALS TO REACH THE LAND THAT WAS DIRECTLY ACROSS FROM YOURS ON THE MAP. THAT MEANS YOU HAVE TO STOP AT THE LAND OF CONCRETE AND FROGS."

"That works. Hey, do you know which guardian has a guy with gelled back blonde hair? Goes by the name Ezra?"

"HOLD ON." CG took a few moments to talk to someone else. His voice was muffled, however, so she couldn't make out what he was saying. Then he came back on. "MY FRIEND, GA, HAS HIM. WHY?"

"Tell GA, if they can, to wreck his shit in some form. Don't kill him, just disrupt his progress." There was a pause in the conversation for a few moments and what sounded like arguing in the background.

"SHE SENT HIM IN THE WRONG DIRECTION."

"Thanks."

"NO PROBLEM. WE HAVE SOMEONE LIKE HIM HERE. DOUCHE BAGS DESERVE TO HAVE THEIR SHIT WRECKED. ANYWAYS, GOOD LUCK ON YOUR CLIMB, SEEING AS YOU'RE ALMOST TO THE TREE. BYE."

"Bye." Rain hit the button a fourth time and stared up the tree. To her amazement, there were stairs built into the tree itself. She didn't quite trust stairs, due to where she lived with her brothers, but she had to get up to the top somehow. Stair after stair, she began to climb.


	2. Karkat Vantas

Karkat sat back in his chair, watching Rain climb the stairs and reading over the information sheet he'd received that told him all about her.

"SO YOU'V3 GOT 4 STR1D3R, 3H? H3H3H3!"

"GOG, TEREZI, FUCK OFF! SO WHAT IF SHE'S A STRIDER?! SHE ISN'T AS BIG AN ASSHOLE AS DAVE!"

"WH4T, DO YOU L1K3 H3R, K4RKL3S? OOH, K4RKL3S H4S 4 FLUSHCRUSH!"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

":33


	3. Kura Ishtar

Kura had been sitting by the portal, waiting for someone to come through so she wouldn't have to travel alone. Suddenly, a pair of pale hands gripped the ground around the portal and, eventually, a head popped up.

Kura stood, helping the girl through the rest of the way. The girl stood and looked Kura up and down.

"Which one are you?" Kura asked.

"I'm Rain Strider. Who are you?"

"Kura Ishtar, at your service. You're the one that told Ruby about this, right?"

"Yeah, that's me. So, is this your land?"

"Yes. I was told not to go alone so I sat and waited for someone. Shall we go?" Rain nodded and the pair began to walk down a path. Kura obviously new where she was going so Rain just followed along.

"I see you have a necklace, too. Hmm, that's an interesting symbol. Ah, Aries as well. I have Cancer myself."

"So I see."

The pair made their way to the foot of a cliff and Kura looked up, pointing to the sky. Rain looked up and her face fell.

"Great, more climbing..." she groaned and the two began their ascent. "Do you know what land you're stopping at?"

"The Land of Baseball and Boxing. You?"

"The Land of Concrete and Frogs."

The two went on in silence as to conserve their energy. Rain was starting to feel tired again seeing as the healing light of the previous land was no longer present.

The two came to a ledge big enough for both of them to sit on and they rested. Rain took another drink of Faygo and offered some to Kura, who refused.

While they sat, Kura got a call and she answered it immediately.

"Hello?"

"i'm glad y0u f0und s0me0ne t0 travel with, finally."

"Same."

"make sure y0u d0n't let her die. this girl is y0ur her0 0f time and the 0nly 0ne wh0 can restart everything if y0u need it."

"Understood."

"g00d luck!"

"Bye." Kura ended the call and carefully stood. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, I'm good now. We can go." Rain stood and the pair continued to climb ever upward.

It took quite awhile until they finally reached the top of the cliff but the portal was still a little ways above the cliff face.

"I'll lift you up." Kura said, kneeling down with her hands interlocked.

"Are you sure?" Kura nodded and Rain walked over, putting a foot in Kura's hands. "On the count of three. One... Two... Three!" Rain pushed up from the ground with one leg while Kura propelled her upward.

Rain grabbed the land on the other side of the portal but one hand didn't grip hard enough and she was left dangling perilously close from the portal which was way too close to the edge of the cliff.

On the opposite side of the portal, a hand grabbed the one hanging on and she was suddenly pulled upward by the stranger, who set her down on the ground.


	4. Ward Harmon

Ward looked at the girl he'd just saved. She was thin and tall, with a head of short, fluffy, black hair.

"My friend is still down there. Will you hold my ankles and dangle me down so I can reach her?"

"Sure." The girl laid down on her stomach and Ward grabbed her ankles, slowly helping her down through the portal. It wasn't long before an extra weight was added and the girl told him to pull her back up.

He did so and another girl was there as well. She had a bored expression on her face and her yellow eyes were halfway closed.

"Thanks for the help... uh..."

"Ward. Ward Harmon. Nice to meet you. Aren't you Rexx's girlfriend, Rain?"

"Yeah, Rain Strider, nice to meet you. This is Kura Ishtar."

"Pleasure."

"Same. So, would you two like me to point you in the right direction of the portal?"

"Yes, please."

"You just go straight from here until you reach the intersection, then you take a right and go straight until you reach the point where you have to turn left. That's as far as I've gotten before getting lost."

"I thought you knew where the portal was?"

"Well..."

"We'll make our own way. Do you know what the next land is?"

"The Land of Darkness and Castles."

"Alright, thanks, Ward! Maybe we'll see you again at some point."

"Bye you two!"

Ward stood and watched as Rain and Kura made their way into the labyrinth of bookshelves. He sat down next to the portal and stared the way they'd gone, even after it'd been awhile since they'd left.

Suddenly, a ping sounded and he answered the call.

"hEY, I JUST WANTED TO SAY IT WAS PRETTY COOL THAT YOU HELPED THEM OUT LIKE THAt,,,"

"It's what I'm here for. I'm going to wait until I've helped everyone that's coming this way before going on myself. That way everyone can get here at least."

"aLRIGHT, I'LL SEE YOU WHEN YOU GET HERe,,, bYE,,,"

"Bye." Ward hung up and looked around at all the books. He wondered what was in them all but didn't get up to grab any.


	5. The Land of Darkness and Castles

Rain and Kura looked up at the portal that hung just above the tallest tower of the castle before them.

"You've got to be kidding me..."

"Let's go." Kura began to walk toward the entrance and Rain hurried to catch up to her. They entered and found a grand entrance hall with only one object residing in it. A throne near the back of the room. There were no other doorways nor any stairs leading up or down.

The two walked toward the throne but were stopped short as three shadowy figures emerged from the ground. They looked like the shadows of medieval knights in armor. All three of them had swords held at the ready. One of them brought it down and nearly hit Rain, had she not jumped back.

"Whoa, what the fuck?!" she exclaimed.

"We must fight!" Kura stated, grabbing the small stick at her side and pressing a button, causing it to extend to a full-length bo staff.

"Right!" Rain grabbed a similar stick but when she pressed the button, two blades shot out from the opposite ends.

The knights began to advance and, then, the strife was on. With quick, precise, and oddly coordinated movements, the two took down the shadows with ease. However, Rain's upper arm had been sliced by the last one.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, it's just a scratch. C'mon, let's go on." This time Rain led the way, obviously now driven.

They reached the throne and Rain noticed it was attached to the wall behind it.

"That's odd."

"Very. Here, let's see if there's some sort of switch. There might be a passage upward."

Kura nodded and they scoured every inch of the throne to no avail. The only thing they'd found was an odd inscription in unknown runes on the base of the throne.

"Hm... I think I know who can help us, hold on." Rain pressed the button on her headset and sent a call out to Karkat.

"WHAT?"

"Karkat, we need you're help. I've figured you can see me somehow so, if you can, help us read these runes."

"ALRIGHT, LET ME SEE... OKAY, BASICALLY WHAT THEY'RE SAYING IS THAT IF SOMEONE WHO IS WORTHY SITS ON THE THRONE IT WILL SHOW THEM WHAT THEY SEEK, WHICH IS FUCKING STUPID, BUT THAT'S THE CREATOR'S FAULT."

"Thanks, Karkat! I'll see you soon, okay?"

"ALRIGHT, SEE YOU SOON. BYE."

"Bye." Karkat hung up and Rain turned to Kura. "All we have to do is sit on this throne and whoever is worthy will be shown what they're searching for. You sit first, it should work for you, I'm not worthy."

"Okay." Kura sat down on the throne and a noise sounded to their right. A doorway had opened up and the two immediately made their way over to it. There were stairs going up so, after a curt nod to one another, they entered the passage and made their way up the stairs.

"I told you it'd work for you, didn't I?"

"Yes, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't have worked for you."

"It wouldn't have. I'm not worthy. At least, not yet."

"Yet?"

"Yeah, I have a lot of growing to do, first."

The two continued in silence until they reached a landing. They stopped to rest and Rain looked out the window. All she could see was nothing, a complete and utter darkness seemed to have taken over the entire land, the only light coming from the castle itself.

After a bit longer, the two made their way toward the next set of stairs but a circle of shadow nights surrounded them. There were twelve of them, all bigger than the ones in the entrance hall. The pair grabbed their weapons and commenced the strife.

However, their fighting did nothing but caused more to appear. For every one they destroyed, two more came to take it's place.

"This is hopeless! We have to retreat!"

"They'll only follow us and eventually overtake us. You go, I'll distract them."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes! Now go before it's too late!"

With a brief nod, Rain knocked one of the knights down to his hands and knees and used his back as a springboard to jump over the others. She landed part of the way up the stairs and bounded up the others, trying to get as far away from the knights as possible.

She finally made it to the top and the portal was just right there. She was about to jump through it when she stopped and looked back at the passage she'd just come through.

Maybe I should go back for her... She could be in trouble, or be dead... Rain thought. Suddenly, a shape appeared to be coming up the passage.

"Rain, go! Through the portal, now! They're right behind me!"

"I'm not going without you!"

As soon as Kura came through the entrance, Rain grabbed her free hand and the two jumped through the portal together.


	6. Gambler's Paradise

Kura and Rain fell through the sky, hand in hand, and landed on a pair of giant fuzzy dice before bouncing off and landing in a pile of poker chips. Rain surfaced from the pile, spitting out some red chips as Kura popped her own head out.

"This is messed up."

"I can agree to that." The two waded out of the pile and looked around. Eventually, Kura spotted the portal. It wasn't far away but it was really high up.

"Up there." she said, pointing to show Rain.

"Why is it always climbing? Hasn't anyone been informed that I'm actually scared of heights? God!"

"Then let's get it over with as soon as possible so we can get you to your destination."

Rain nodded and the two walked the short distance to the portal. Looking around, all the two could see was a giant deck of cards and a few over-sized dice.

"House of cards or stairway of dice?"

"Stairway of dice sounds sturdier, more predictable."

"Okie dokie, let's do it, then."

The two pushed, pulled, and rolled the dice into place. It was a lot of work but, eventually, they had more of a leaning tower than a stairway.

"This looks dangerous."

"All the fun things are. Let's get this over with."

The pair helped each other up their tower that would occasionally begin to sway, until they reached the portal. Rain went through ahead of Kura, who followed shortly afterwards.

The pair ended up in a dark grey land with frogs hopping around everywhere.

"Wow. This isn't what I was expecting..."

"I think this is my stop. The Land of Concrete and Frogs. Seems legit."

"I guess I'll be leaving you, then?"

"Hold on, you aren't getting rid of me just yet. Just, let me call Karkat." As Rain talked to her guardian, Kura looked around the land. It was sort of depressing.

What a strange place to have such an importance such as the location for the breeding of the genesis frog... Kura thought, looking up at the large temple rising above the rest of the world.

"Well, I'm supposed to go find the portal to the next land because my path is there somewhere. So, did you find anything?"

"I think we should go this way, I have a good feeling about it."

"Alrighty."

The pair took a path to the left and ended up in an empty lot where the portal was.

"Look, an easy one for once. I guess this is goodbye, then..."

"We'll see each other again soon, I promise. See you later, Rain"

"See ya later, Kura." Then, Kura stepped through the portal, leaving Rain behind.


	7. Meeting the carcinoGeneticist

Rain was left standing in the empty lot, staring at the portal her companion had just went through. Then she got a call.

"ARE YOU ALONE NOW?"

"Yeah..."

"WALK OVER TO THE PORTAL AND STAND IN FRONT OF IT."

Rain did as she was told, and stood in front of the portal, aching to jump through it but knowing she had to wait.

"OKAY, SAY 'I AM RAIN STRIDER, THE CHARGE OF CRAB, AND DEMAND ENTRANCE TO HIS REALM'."

"That sounds really stupid."

"JUST SAY IT! I'M NOT THE ONE WHO MADE THAT WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY."

"Ugh, fine. I'll see you in a sec. Bye." Rain ended the call and placed her entire attention on the portal. "I am Rain Strider, the Charge of the Crab, and demand entrance to his realm." She said. Suddenly, the portal glowed a candy red and the destination on the opposite side of it looked different.

Rain stepped through and found herself in a large, metal room filled with computers and grey skinned creatures with candy corn horns. One of them turned around from their computer screen and Rain noticed he had a grey Cancer symbol on his shirt and nubby little horns.

He got up and walked over to her and she couldn't help but grin at how short he was. His head only came up to her chest. He looked up at her as she looked down.

"YOU'RE TALLER THAN I EXPECTED."

"You're just as short as I expected... Karkat." Karkat got an angry look on his face but he hugged her anyway. She hugged him back, feeling a little bad that her boobs were nearly smothering him. They stepped back from each other and another creature came up. This one was wearing an olive green trench coat and a blue hat on her head.

":33


	8. Talking to the Charge of Cancer

Karkat pulled up to chairs for the both of them and gestured for Rain to sit as he did so himself. Rain sat on the edge of her seat, obviously a bit uncomfortable.

"DON'T LET TEREZI TROUBLE YOU TOO MUCH. SHE'S REALLY WEIRD LIKE THAT ALL THE TIME, YOU'LL GET USED TO IT."

"It's not that, it's just... You all really did know Dave..."

"YEAH... TEREZI HAD A FLUSHCRUSH ON HIM SO YOU'RE BEING A STRIDER PROBABLY REALLY BOTHERED HER."

"A... flushcrush?"

"YEAH. IT'S WHEN A TROLL WANTS SOMEONE TO BE IN THEIR RED QUADRANT AND BE THEIR MATESPRIT. BUT WE AREN'T HERE TO TALK ABOUT LOVE, WE'RE HERE TO TALK ABOUT THE GAME."

"Yeah..." Rain hugged herself as Karkat opened his mouth to say something but stopped short when she let out a yelp of pain and pulled her hand back. He finally notice the deep wound on her upper, left arm.

"WHAT HAPPENED?! WHO DID THIS?! ARE YOU OKAY?!" he asked, frantically. He stood abruptly, knocking his chair back and took a step closer to Rain. She put her hands on his shoulders.

"It's fine, Karkat, calm down. Kura and I ran into these strange shadow knights in the Land of Darkness and Castles. One of them cut me but he's long gone, we took care of him. It's okay, it just stung a little when I touched it."

"COME WITH ME, RIGHT NOW. WE NEED TO HAVE KANAYA LOOK AT THIS."

Before Rain could answer, Karkat had grabbed her hand and dragged her onto the platform and immediately back to the room with the other trolls at their computers.

"KANAYA, WILL YOU HAVE A LOOK AT THIS, PLEASE?"

"One Moment, Karkat, I'm Still Trying To Get My Human Here Seeing As You Sent Him In The Wrong Direction Earlier." Rain pried her hand out of Karkat's.

"I'm fine, really. He's just overreacting, it's nothing. You don't need to look at it, it's just a scratch." She gently placed the hand Karkat had been holding over it, as though hiding it. Karkat noticed she was looking over his head at someone and turned to see who. He didn't recognize the human but he figure Rain knew him.

THIS MUST BE REXX, he thought sadly, watching as the boy noticed Rain and walked over, slightly shoving Karkat out of the way.

"Rain! I didn't think I'd ever get to see you in person!" Rexx gave her a big, showy hug that lasted longer than needed.

"Hey, Rexx." she said. He leaned his head back and kissed her on the lips.

"I've wanted to do that for so long... Well, I have to go be briefed on the mission, I'll see you later!" He walked off to meet up with Gamzee, but not before shooting a glare toward Karkat.

Kanaya walked over to the two of them, looking slightly annoyed.

"What Is It That You Wanted, Karkat?" she asked.

"IT WAS... NOTHING, NEVERMIND. GO BACK TO YOUR DOUCHE BAG. I NEED TO GO BRIEF RAIN." Karkat stalked back toward the platforms and Rain followed at a distance. The two teleported back to Karkat's room where he righted his chair and sat down in a huff.

Rain sat on the very edge of her seat again, almost looking ready to run if she needed to.

"I'm sorry about him..."

"WHAT'S THERE TO BE SORRY ABOUT? HE'S YOUR MATESPRIT, THAT'S HOW HE'S SUPPOSED TO ACT."

"Well, on Earth, what he did would be considered rude, as it was, and he shouldn't have done that to you. He should be happy you cared enough to worry about this, which, as I said, is nothing." Karkat watched her take her hand away and look down at the wound.

"ANYHOW, I NEED TO EXPLAIN A FEW THINGS TO YOU ABOUT THE GAME."

"Okay, explain away, Karkat."

"FIRST OF ALL-"

"kk, ii need two 2ee you for a 2ec." a voice said seemingly from nowhere.

"FINE, BE THERE IN A SECOND, ASSHOLE. IF YOU WANT TO COME ALONG, RAIN, YOU CAN."

Karkat and Rain, once again, made their way back to the main room to find a troll with two sets of horns and 3-D glasses.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT?"

"my human ii2 wonderiing how two get pa2t thii2 ob2tacle and 2he can't under2tand a word ii'm 2ayiing. wiill you talk two her for me?"

"WHY DIDN'T YOU ASK KANAYA? SHE HAS A BETTER VOICE THAN I DO."

"you've already got your human here and 2he'2 tryiing two get her2 here, 2eeiing a2 you took over her hu2ktop and made hiim go the wrong way."

"GOG, FINE. MOVE AND LET ME TALK TO HER. WHAT'S HER NAME?"

"2he goe2 by ruby." Karkat sat down in the troll's chair after he'd moved to stand by Rain. "2o, you're raiin, are you?"

"As far as I know, yes." she replied snarkily. Karkat smirked.

"ii don't 2ee why everyone ii2 2o hyped up over you. you don't look liike much."

"Neither do you but you don't hear me complaining about your particularly uselessness, lispy."

"don't te2t me, human."

"Why 2hould I li2ten to your threat2 when I can barely under2tand them?"

"that'2 it! you a2ked for i-"

"DONE! HERE, TAKE YOUR STUPID HUMAN BACK, SOLLUX!"

"you better keep your2 iin check or ii miight ju2t make a kii2me2ii2 out of her."

"DON'T YOU DARE! COME ON, RAIN, LET ME SEE IF I CAN ACTU-"

"Rain, I'm back!~" Rexx said in a sing-song voice as he walked up to Rain and put an arm around her.

"YOU KNOW WHAT?! FUCK IT! I'M DONE TRYING TO DO MY JOB AND HAVING EVERYONE INTERRUPT ME! I JUST CAN'T!" Karkat stomped off toward the platforms to go fume in his room.


	9. Shooshpapping?

"Rexx, I have to go to him. He's supposed to brief me. I need to know things." Rain removed Rexx's arm and walked toward the platforms. Carefully, she stepped up onto the Cancer one. She didn't think it would work for her but, to her joy, it did and she ended up in Karkat's room.

He was pacing around angrily, occasionally kicking something. He didn't notice her at first and it wasn't until she had stood right in front of him that he did.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT? SHOULDN'T YOU BE WITH YOUR MATESPRIT?" He tried to walk around her but she stepped in his way.

"Karkat, I want to know. I don't want to be left in the dark like always."

He ignored her and tried to walk around her but she grabbed him and pulled him into a hug and began to pat his back with a hand.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

"I'm trying to calm you down so we can talk. I want to hear what you have to say and we won't leave this room until you've said everything."

"WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO HEAR ANYTHING I HAVE TO SAY?"

"I don't like being left in the dark and so," she releases him and rights the chairs he'd kicked over, "we're going to sit down and your going to brief me." She guides him into the chair and sits down on her own. "Now, begin."

"ALRIGHT, WELL, YOU ALREADY KNOW YOU'RE THE 'CHARGE OF CANCER' MEANING, OBVIOUSLY, THAT I'M YOUR GUARDIAN. I'M SUPPOSED TO GUIDE YOU SAFELY THROUGH THE GAME AND, FROM NOW UNTIL THE END I'LL BE RIGHT BY YOUR SIDE, NOT JUST GUIDING OVER THE HUSKTOP. NOW, AFTER EVERYONE ARRIVES AND ARE ALL BRIEFED WE'LL HAVE A SLEEP AND THEN HEAD OUT. WE'LL HAVE TO WORK THROUGH THE REST OF THE LANDS TO GET TO THE ONE YOU ARRIVED ON TO UNLEASH IT'S POTENTIAL. HOWEVER, THERE WILL BE OBSTACLES AND, EVENTUALLY, YOU'LL HAVE TO FIGHT... WELL, I DON'T KNOW BUT THERE IS SUPPOSED TO BE A REALLY OVERPOWERED ENEMY. ALONG THE WAY WE'LL HAVE TO TRY AND GOD TIER YOU SO YOU'LL BE STRONG ENOUGH TO NOT ONLY GET TO SKAIA BUT TO ACTUALLY FIGHT THE BLACK KING. THAT GUY IS SUPPOSED TO BE REALLY STRONG SO YOU'LL HAVE TO BE STRONGER. HOWEVER, THERE ARE CHANCES YOU'LL DIE ANYWHERE BETWEEN NOW AND SKAIA SO WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE 'NOT DIE' IS ON OUR LIST OF THINGS TO DO. IF EVERYTHING GOES RIGHT THEN YOU AND ALL YOUR FRIENDS WILL ARRIVE ON SKAIA GOD TIERED SO THAT YOU CAN ALL DEFEAT THE KING AND THEN YOU'LL BE ABLE TO SAFELY BREED THE GENESIS FROG AND MAKE YOUR OWN UNIVERSE AND WIN THE GAME. GOT ALL THAT?"

"I think so... So basically, I have to go back to the beginning with you and do what I chose not to do at first and I'll have to fight a really OP enemy sometime in between there and, also, I'll have to reach my 'god tier', whatever that is, so I can get to a completely different place so that I can fight an even more OP boss with, hopefully, all of my friends, unless some have died, so that we can breed a FROG to make a new universe, which means we've won. Right? Oh, and I have to try not to die."

"YOU'VE GOT IT."

"Was that all?"

"YEAH. IT WASN'T MUCH, OBVIOUSLY, BUT SEEING AS ALL THOSE FUCKASSES KEPT INTERRUPTING I COULDN'T EVEN PROPERLY STRING TWO FUCKING WORDS TOGETHER!"

"Karkat," she puts a calming hand on his knee, "calm down. It's done, it's over with, it's in the past. We've gone through everything and now I know."

"I GUESS... THANKS FOR SHOOSHPAPPING ME EARLIER, BY THE WAY."

"Shoospapping?"

"WELL, IT WASN'T REALLY SHOOSHPAPPING BECAUSE YOU WEREN'T SHOOSHING BUT YOU WERE PAPPING."

"What is shooshpapping?"

"YOU KNOW HOW YOU WERE PAPPING ME ON THE BACK EARLIER? WELL IT'S LIKE THAT BUT YOUR ALSO GOING 'SSHH'."

"Oh, okay. You're welcome then. That's just what Dirk does when I'm upset. He's my oldest brother, well, technically Bro is but he's never around so..."

"I SEE..."

"Do you want to go see if everyone is here?"

"NOT REALLY... I DON'T THINK REXX WOULD BE TOO HAPPY SEEING AS YOU PROBABLY BLEW HIM OFF TO COME HERE." Karkat didn't think she'd noticed, but Rain saw him hide a smile.

"That's fine, I'll sit here with you. It'll give me a chance to get to know who I'm to be travelling with. We can take turns asking each other questions."

"I'M FINE WITH THAT. DO YOU WANT TO START OR SHOULD I?"

"If you have a question, ask it."

"WHY ARE YOU IN A MATESPRITSHIP WITH REXX?"

"Well, I'm in what you call a Matespritship with him because, when we were talking, he and I got along great and he was really nice. We just sort of hit it off and then, one day, he asked me to be his Matesprit, I said yes."

"SO HE FOOLED YOU INTO THINKING HE WAS A NICE GUY, WHEN, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'VE NOTICED, HE REALLY DOESN'T SEEM THAT WAY?"

"I guess..." Rain looked away, trying to hide her shame.

"YOUR TURN."

"Um... Hm..."

The two talked for hours and then a bell sounded and someone came over an intercom system.

"everyone ii2 here and ha2 been briiefed. iif all human2 and troll2 wiill report two the feediing hall we'll begiin." Sollux lisped.

Rain and Karkat stood up and walked to the Cancer platform. When they arrived in the platform room, Rain decided to ask one last question.

"Karkat, what did Sollux mean when he said he'd make a kismesis out of me?"

"THAT HAS TO DO WITH THE FOURTH AND LAST QUADRANT OF TROLL LOVE. IF HE WERE IN YOUR BLACK QUADRANT THEN HE'D BE YOUR KISMESIS."

"But what does that mean?"

"IT'S A HATE LOVE. YOU HATE THE ASSHOLE, WHOEVER IT MAY BE, DESPITE THE FACT THEY HAVE QUALITIES TO WHERE YOU COULD LIKE THEM, THEY ANNOY YOU SO MUCH YOU CAN'T PINPOINT THEM. AN AUSPISTICE IS SUPPOSED TO KEEP THE TWO OF YOU FROM KILLING EACH OTHER. ALSO, THE KISMESIS IS THE OTHER ONE YOU HAVE TO FILL A BUCKET WITH." Karkat blushed his bright candy red when he said 'bucket'.

"Okay, well, if lispy thinks I'm going to 'fill a bucket' with him then he has another thing coming."

Karkat laughed, causing him to snort a little and he immediately stopped. Rain frowned when she saw his smile fade just as quickly as it had come.

"You don't need to be ashamed. Plenty of humans laugh like that and," under her breath she mumbled, "I thought it was pretty cute..."

The pair said nothing more, however, as they entered a large hall that had a long, ovoid table with twenty-four chairs around it.


	10. Sari Harley

Sari sat with Terezi, chatting happily, but, mid sentence, she stopped.

"WH4T 1S 1T, S4R1?" Terezi asked.

"My Strider-sense is tingling..." Sari slowly turned around in her chair to look at the door. "R41N!"

Rain froze as Sari sprinted toward her and tackled her to the ground.

"Ugh... Sari, why? Get off of me..." Sari got up and pulled Rain up with her.

"How's Dirk and Dave?! Are they okay?! Oh my god, have there been any fights I've missed lately?! WHY C4N'T 1 B3 1N MULT1PL3 PL4C3S 4T ONC3?!"

"SARI, CALM DOWN!" Rain ordered, pushing down on Sari's shoulders to stop her bouncing. Slowly, it stopped and Rain took her hands away only to have her waist hugged very tightly by the shorter girl.

"I've missed you so much! Ugh, I didn't think I'd ever see another Strider again!!"

Sari was finally pried off of Rain and returned to her seat as Rain and Karkat sat down in their own chairs. Sari sat between Terezi and Vriska, another treasure-lover like Sari. That's why Sari's planet was a gambler's paradise.

Sari looked around the table to see she only really new Rain by face. The others were all new to her, especially the trolls with their grey skin and, naturally, yellow eyes. Of course, Terezi had red ones, but she was blind and Aradia, a dead girl, had white ones.

Sari's own eyes were a lovely, natural purple, which was her favorite color by no coincidence.

Sari chatted excitedly with Vriska about treasure and the like when, finally, the food was served. A plate of Earth food was set in front of every human while something that looked vaguely similar to Earth food but wasn't was in front of every troll.

Everyone began to chow down on their food, talking politely to those around them but many were focused on eating.

Eventually, everyone was fully fed and many started to get tired. Rain, as Sari saw, seemed wide awake, staring at the table in front of her, her head on her arms. She seemed thoughtful.

And kinda sad... Sari thought, worrying about her friend.

"I suppose we ought to get to sleep, W--E'V--E GOT A BIG DAY TOMORROW, H--E--EH--E--E! GLUB!" said a troll at one end of the table. She had fins on the side of her face and looked really important. There was a little circlet/tiara thing on her head.

"okay, human2 wiill be 2tayiing iin theiir guardiian'2 block2. where you 2leep and 2uch ii2 up to you. ii wiill wake you all up when iit2 tiime two go."

With that, everyone started to get up but Rain still sat. Her guardian stood and they shared a brief word before he left her. Sari sat in a seat next to Rain and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you alright, Rain?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, Sari..."

"You don't sound that way."

"I'm just a little confused is all. Hey, I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" Sari nodded, and the two hugged, then Rain stood and walked out of the room. Sari sighed and stood up, herself, making her way to the Libra platform and teleporting to Terezi's room.


	11. Feels

Karkat had been getting his things together for tomorrow and didn't hear Rain come in. It wasn't until she tapped him on the shoulder did he know.

"JEGUS, RAIN, YOU NEARLY FUCKING KILLED ME! DON'T SNEAK UP ON ME LIKE THAT!"

"I'm sorry..." Rain shrank away a bit. She didn't seem like the same strong person she had been an hour ago.

"I-IT'S FINE. I'M SORRY. SO, WHERE DO YOU WANT TO SLEEP? I COULD MAKE A PILE OF MY SWEATERS IN A CORNER OR..."

"Or?"

"OR YOU CAN SLEEP IN MY RECUPERACOON WITH ME."

He watched as Rain looked over at the large purple thing in the corner. She'd asked about it earlier and he'd explained it to her in detail. She really seemed to like the concept of the sopor's effects when not ingested.

"I'll sleep in there with you, I guess. But, won't the sopor get all over my clothes? These are my only ones..." Karkat held up a bundle of cloth in response.

"THESE WERE IN HERE WHEN I CAME IN. I'M ASSUMING THEY'RE FOR YOU."

"Alright, that works. However, are you sure we'll both fit in there?"

"YEAH, IT HAS PLENTY OF ROOM IN IT. HERE, I'LL GET IN FIRST AND YOU CAN GET IN AFTER. I'LL HELP GUIDE YOU IN."

"Okay."

Karkat climbed into the recuperacoon and slid into the sopor slime. He waited until he saw Rain's feet. He grabbed them and slowly guided her down next to him.

"Now what?"

"WELL, WHEN YOU'RE READY TO SLEEP, JUST SLIDE UNDER THE SOPOR AND IT WON'T BE LONG UNTIL YOU'RE ASLEEP."

"Sounds legit."

"RAIN?"

"Yeah?"

"CAN I ASK YOU ONE LAST THING BEFORE WE GO TO SLEEP?"

"Sure."

"HOW DO YOU... NEVERMIND..."

"You started the question so now you have to finish it, no matter what it may be."

"HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT ME?"

"Well, you're my guardian, and I'm thankful that you helped me out in some of the tougher spots. I think it's safe to say you're my friend, and a great one at that."

"IS-IS THAT ALL?"

"No, but I couldn't tell you what the rest of it is right now. Goodnight, I'll see you when I wake, I hope." She gave him a hug and a peck on the cheek before submerging herself in the sopor slime.

SHE... KISSED ME ON THE CHEEK... With a smile on his face and his heart a bit lighter, Karkat submerged himself in the slime and fell asleep beside Rain.

It wasn't long before they both woke up, however...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Just wanted to say thanks if you're reading this! ^.^ If you have any problems with what I'm writing then feel free to say so. If you have an OC or something you'd like me to add in there will be a point in which I will use them. Thanks again!**


	12. A Dream or a Nightmare?

"Where am I?" Rain wondered aloud. Her surroundings were all a violet color and, looking down, she saw her clothes followed the same color scheme, except her shoes. One of them was a candy red and the other was grey.

Walking over to the window, she looked out to see the entire place was violet. Not too far in the distance was a spot of yellow. From what she could see, it looked like a yellow copy of the place she was.  
~  
Karkat raged internally while keeping a surprisingly calm exterior. He looked out the window of his Prospitian block to the violet spot that was Derse, where Rain was.

He took flight and set off. He'd get as close as possible to Derse and her. Maybe it was time to tell her what he thought of her.  
~  
Rain was having fun floating around her room and propelling herself through the air by pushing off the walls. At some point she accidentally went sailing out of the window and into the air.

She turned to face the ground to see a few faces staring up at her, human and troll alike. She waved with a grin. She may have been scared of heights but, flying like she was, she felt only happiness, excitement, and freedom.

Suddenly, someone above her grabbed her around the waist. She moved her head backwards fast and connected with something. Whatever had her let her go and she flew a few feet away before turning around. She was surprised to see Rexx.

"YOU DON'T SNEAK UP ON PEOPLE LIKE THAT!" she shouted.

"I'm sorry, I thought you were my girlfriend!" he yelled back.

"THAT DOESN'T GIVE YOU THE RIGHT TO SNEAK UP ON ME! I COULD'VE KILLED YOU! THEN THERE WOULD BE NO ONE TO BREED THE GENESIS FROG!" It was obvious Rain was pissed but Rexx wasn't getting the message.

Without waiting around for a response, she flew off toward a smaller sphere connected to the main body of whatever planet she was on. There she sat down and pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. With a sigh, she buried her head in her arms.  
~  
Karkat was flying toward Prospit's smaller sub-moon when he noticed that it was about to pass by Derse's sub-moon, and quite closely at that. He boosted his speed and squinted at the figure he'd noticed sitting on Derse's sub-moon. His heart leapt with joy when he noticed it was Rain.

"RAIN!" he called to her. He saw her look up at him.

"Karkat?"

"RAIN, I NEED TO TELL YOU SOMETHING!"

"What is it?" she inquired, standing up.

"I-I'M FLUSHED FOR YOU!"

"Karkat..." Rain looked as though she wanted to fly the short distance to Prospit at that moment.  
~  
Rain prepared to fly over to Karkat by floating a little bit above the ground. She was about to move when she was grabbed from behind to where any defensive technique she could try would fail.

"mAkE oNe MoVe AnD i WiLl KiLl HeR! sO i SeE mY sWeEtHeArT hAs FoUnD aNoThEr; No MaTtEr, i'Ll JuSt HaVe To KeEp YoU aWaY fRoM eAcH oThEr WhEn We'Re AsLeEp."

With a laugh, Rexx flew off with Rain. He took her to his room on the violet planet and chained her to one of the walls.

"Why do you even have chains?" Rain asked in mild despair.

"I don't know, bUt I'm GlAd I dO. yOu AnD yOuR lItTlE tRoLl ArEn'T gOiNg To Be ToGeThEr. i'Ll NeVeR lEt YoU gO. yOu'Re MiNe!"

Rexx began to come closer to Rain and...

She shot up out of the sopor and began to immediately wipe it out of her eyes. When she could see, she looked over to Karkat. He had been the one to wake her.

"I just had a horrible nightmare..." she said.

"THAT WASN'T A NIGHTMARE, THAT WAS OUR DREAMSELVES' REALITY. WHEN YOU PLAY THE GAME, YOU WAKE UP ON EITHER DERSE OR PROSPIT, THE TWO MOONS THAT ARE HOME TO THE DREAM VERSIONS OF US. YOU WOKE UP ON DERSE, I WOKE UP ON PROSPIT."

"Ah... So... You did say..."

"YEAH..." Karkat looked away, blushing.

"Oh... Well... Karkat, I'm sorry, but I just met you and we've only just started to get to know each other and..."

"I UNDERSTAND... BUT, YOU WON'T STILL BE WITH REXX, WILL YOU? AFTER WHAT HE DID?"

"You'll see and, hey, maybe one day I will feel the same but, just not right now, okay?"

"YEAH."

Suddenly, a loud, piercing sound like an alarm clock came on over the intercom. Then a voice.

"alriight, everyone. iinto the maiin hall two prepare and then we'll 2tart thii2 game."

Rain and Karkat crawled out of the recuperacoon and began to clean up and get changed. Rain had gotten done before Karkat and stood by the platform, sort of watching him. There were odd, candy red scars on his torso.

"Karkat, what's up with those scars?"

Karkat whirled around, obviously a bit embarrassed he'd been being watched.

"THEY'RE GRUB SCARS. TROLLS HATCH OUT OF EGGS AND THEY START OFF AS GRUBS. AS WE GROW AND MATURE, OUR EXTRA LEGS FALL OFF AND LEAVE THESE SCARS BEHIND." he explained as he pulled on his shirt and wrapped the grey cloak around him. It was obvious he was trying to hide the light blush on his face.

"Interesting... Now, hurry up. I don't want you to miss this."

Karkat grabbed his sickles and stepped onto the platform with Rain.

"MISS WHAT?" he asked when they arrived in the platform room.

"You'll see." Rain walked a little ways ahead of him into the main room. She noticed Rexx was standing by himself. Good, less people to complicate things, Rain thought.

She began to walk up to him with her arms open a little as though she was going to hug him. He smiled at her and, when she got close enough to him, she did it.


	13. The Beginning of the Journey

It happened so fast that if anyone were to have blinked, they would've missed it. Rain had given Rexx a roundhouse kick to the face and now he was leaning against the wall, holding his head, and shouting.

"What was that for?!"

"FOR BEING A MAJOR FUCKING DICK!" Rain yelled back. She was standing tall over his slightly cowering form. "I SWEAR TO GOD I WILL KILL YOU WHEN ALL OF THIS IS OVER YOU FUCKING DISGRACE TO THE HUMAN NAME! WHY DON'T I SIMPLY REACH DOWN YOUR THROAT AND PUNCH YOUR FUCKING LUNGS OUT?! I'D RIP OUT YOUR HEART BUT YOU OBVIOUSLY DON'T HAVE ONE OF THOSE! MAYBE I'LL GUT YOU LIKE A FISH,"

"RAIN."

"OR I'LL TORTURE YOU SLOWLY AND KEEP YOU ALIVE THROUGH IT ALL,"

"RAIN."

"OR MAYBE, JUST MAYBE, I'LL RIP YOUR DICK OFF AND FORCE FEED IT TO YOU AND, IF THAT ISN'T BAD ENOUGH, I'LL BE CERTAIN TO HUMILIATE YOU EVEN FURTHER BY DRESSING YOU UP LIKE A GIRL, BET YOU'D LIKE SOME DICK, WOULDN'T YOU, MADAME ANIMALIA? YOU ARE A BIG FUCKING SLUT! OOH! HERE'S AN IDEA, I'LL DO ALL OF THAT AND MORE! NOT TO MENTION I'LL-"

"RAIN!"

"WHAT?!" Rain boomed, turning quickly to face Karkat. She noticed how a lot of the others looked scared and a few were cowering behind some who were a bit more brave. "Oh... I-I'm sorry... I didn't mean to scare you guys... I just... sorta... lost it..."

Karkat grabbed the grey and red bag sitting on a table and secured it. Taking Rain by the arm, he guided her to the portal and stopped in front of it. He turned around to look at the others.

"WE'LL BE GOING NOW." He looked over to Rexx. "AND I'LL MAKE SURE SHE DOESN'T SLEEP AS MUCH AS YOU WANT HER TO YOU SICK FREAK." Then, he turned to the portal. "I AM THE GUARDIAN OF CANCER AND DEMAND PASSAGE TO THE CHARGE OF THE CRAB'S LAST LOCATION." The portal glowed a candy red. With that, he gently pushed Rain through the portal and followed behind her.

The pair came out on the Land of Concrete and Frogs. Rain was looking down at her feet in shame. Karkat stood in front of her and looked up. The one time he was glad to be so short had to be under sad circumstances.

"What...? Aren't you scared of me, too?"

"NO. AND NEITHER ARE THEY, THEY WERE TEMPORARILY STARTLED BECAUSE WHAT YOU DID CAME OUT OF NOWHERE AND THEY HAVE NO IDEA WHY YOU FLIPPED OUT. THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED ON DERSE. I DON'T EVEN KNOW THE WHOLE STORY."

Rain only shrugged and looked away. Slowly, the portal stopped glowing red and returned to normal.

"We can go through now..."

Rain stepped through the portal and, with a sigh, Karkat followed behind her. They arrived on a planet that had giant statues of male and female humans and amps.

"WHAT THE FUCK EVEN IS THIS?"

"Someone's stupid land where we'll probably have to climb something in order to get to the fucking portal."

"WELL SHIT, ISN'T THIS JUST FUN?"

The pair had been walking around when the ground began to shake. Both Rain and Karkat froze and turned around to watch the biggest of the statues start to rise out of it's stone chair. It had the top of it's head pointed at them and Rain was able to point out something.

"Look, there's our portal to the next land. But," the stone giant stood to it's full height and both of them were forced to crane their necks nearly to the point of breaking, "how the hell do we get up there?"

"WE COULD TRY CLIMBING."

"And possibly fall and die."

"WE COULD TRY TO BRING IT DOWN TO OUR LEVEL."

"And nearly get squashed in the process."

"WELL DAMN, RAIN, I DON'T HEAR YOU HAVING ANY BETTER IDEAS!"

He hadn't even finished what he'd said before she walked away toward a ginormous amp that had a regular sized guitar plugged into it.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?"

"I'm going to please the God."

"HOW ARE YOU POSSIBLY GOING TO MANAGE THAT WITH A SIMPLE GUITAR?"

"Like this." Rain plucked a string and sound-waves shook the ground beneath them. The statue looked toward Rain with mild interest.

Slowly, she ran a hand down the strings, making sure each was tuned. The statue simply stood and stared with a stony expression.

Then, she started playing the tune to some Earth song (American Idiot by Green Day). When she was done, the statue's expression had gained a small smile but not much. Rain sighed heavily.

"WHAT NOW?"

"I keep playing." This time, she started a different song (Carry On My Wayward Son by Kansas) that lasted longer. This time, the statue had a big smile.

With a growl, she just started to play without a particular song. The tune, however, was surprisingly good and by the end of the epic guitar solo, the statue had knelt down and looked as though it wanted to speak. Rain set the guitar down and walked over to the statue.

"So? Can we get to the portal now?" she asked it. It lowered it's hand, palm up and Rain stepped onto it. Karkat reluctantly followed and the two were lifted up to the giant's head. Carefully, they stepped onto the head and they both jumped through the portal together.


	14. The Doc Is In/The First to Die

Doc Scratch watches the story as it unfolds from his own pocket dimension. He was pondering something greatly.

Should I disrupt them now or wait until they think they've had it won?

He shrugged and slid out a keyboard with multiple color coded keys on it. He pressed all but a red key that was right in the center of the circular keyboard. It was the color of human blood.

This is sure to cause a scene, he thought triumphantly as he turned his attention back to the model of their universe.  
~

Sari and Terezi had conquered every land in their path with ease. Climbing was no problem for either of them and Sari was way to excited to calm down.

"H3Y LOOK, W3'R3 4LMOST TH3R3!" Terezi exclaimed as they saw the outside from the doorway at the top of the stairs.

The pair burst out of the stairwell and immediately dove into the portal. Sari went headfirst like she was diving into a pool whereas Terezi just went feet first.

They were falling through the air and ended up bouncing off the fuzzy dice and into the pile of poker chips. Sari burst out and landed back in it.

"OH Y3S, MY HOM3 L4ND, HOW 1'V3 M1SS3D YOU SO!" She looked like she was swimming through it and Terezi had to drag her out of it. "Sorry, so where to?"

"1 THOUGHT YOU W3R3 SUPPOS3D TO KNOW? W3LL, 1 GU3SS W3 H4V3 TO F1ND 4 S4F3 W4Y TO TH3 C3NT3R OF YOUR PL4N3T SO W3 C4N 'UNL34SH 1T'S FULL POT3NT14L'. 4NY 1D34S?"

"Nope!"

Terezi facepalmed and the pair decided to wander aimlessly around until they found something.

During their wanderings, they came across a hidden tunnel going down into the core of the planet. They both shrugged and made their way down, not really knowing what would be waiting for them when they got there.

Eventually, the tunnel widened out and became an underground cavern which a single short, stone pillar that came up to Sari's waist sat. There was a round indention in it.

"1 TH1NK YOU'R3 SUPPOS3D TO PUT TH4T ORB 1N TH1S HOL3 H3R3."

"Alrighty, let's do it!"

"No+t So+ Fast, Hero+ O+f Rage." Out of the shadows emerged a figure. She was freakishly tall but beautiful at the same time. She reminded Sari of Kanaya, one of Terezi's troll friends.

"DOLOROS4?!"

"Yes, I Am The Do+lo+ro+sa, Denizen O+f The Hero+ O+f Rage. Yo+u Must Defeat Me Befo+re Yo+u Can Unleash The Full Po+tential O+f This Land. Prepare To+ Fight Me, Human."

Sari took this in stride. She didn't really care that much about the game, she just wanted to be with her friends. Shrugging, she took her metal weapons tube and pulled it apart, hitting the buttons and turning them into daggers. Terezi drew her own weapon and the strife ensued.

It wasn't long before Terezi was beheaded by the Dolorosa's chainsaw. This made Sari go into a berserker mode and her attacks, once careful and planned, now became sporadic and random.

It was this wrath that was her downfall, however, for, at the proper moment, the Dolorosa brought the chainsaw around, parallel to the ground. Sari wasn't fast enough.

The Dolorosa sniffed with mild contempt and disappeared back into the shadows, leaving the two halves of Sari's body on the ground.

Looks like I'll have Terezi at least... she thought before she died.


	15. The Second to Fall

Alex Egbert and Vriska made their way deep into the city on the Land of Sounds and Echoes.They were close to the very core of the planet where they would awaken it.

"Soooooooo, you're like the si8ling of John, right?"

"Yes."

"How's he 8een?"

"He's been quite well. He doesn't remember you guys at all."

"I guess not everything could go gr8 in the end... At least he's alive, though."

"Exactly. He could be dead. But he isn't."

"What made you all want to play this game?"

"We all have our own reasons, I'd assume. I wanted wanted to make a better world in this universe we're going to be making."

"What do you mean a '8etter world'? What's so 8ad a8out Earth? From what I've heard, it's a gr8 place to 8e. I mean, you don't have to live up to this caste system of different 8lood colors, you don't have to fight all the time, you don't have to live nearly every moment of your life in fear."

"Earth isn't all rainbows and sunshine. People get made fun of for being slightly different from others. You do one thing wrong and everyone immediately jumps on you. We may not have a caste system based on blood color but everyone isn't equal. But, they will be in this new universe..."

The two of them finally entered the shadowy cavern where the pedestal rested. This one had and indention in the shape of the hybrid of what looked like a bleeding cut and the Scorpio symbol. Alex grabbed the amulet around her neck and was connecting the dots when a growling sound came from the shadows and a pair of glowing yellow eyes peered out at them.

":33


	16. Two in the Same; The Third to Go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ** This is where things get gruesome. Not into that? GO to the end of the chapter and it'll give you the gist of the chapter (I didn't want to write a summary for the sake of spoilers)**

Viky Lalonde and Eridan had taken their sweet time getting back to the Land of Light and Forests but they finally did. They managed to find the entrance inside the giant, hollowed out tree that had many a stair carved into the outside. The passageway they were going down led deep under the earth and ever downward to the core of the planet.

"so some of the other humans are related to some of the ones wwe played our session wwith but are you related to one"

"I'm a Lalonde. I'm Rose's younger sister." Viky replied in a condescending tone.

"i see"

The two eventually reached the core of Viky's planet. This cavern was the darkest place on the planet and the shadows cast a feeling of great unease upon the pair.

They approached the pedestal that had and indention matching Viky's amulet. She was about to take it off when, suddenly...

"I W0ULDN'T IF I WERE Y0U, HUMAN."

"Who's there?! I demand you show yourself!" Viky ordered. The troll emerged from the shadows, chuckling.

"Y0U DEMAND ME? HA! BETTER WATCH Y0URSELF, HER0 0F HEART, 0R Y0U MIGHT JUST GET Y0URSELF INT0 S0ME BIG TR0UBLE."

"So what if I get into trouble? I can get myself out pretty easily if I have to."

"IF Y0U DEFEAT ME THEN MAYBE I'LL BELIEVE TH0SE W0RDS."

Viky went to unleash her claws from the gauntlets she was wearing but the Handmaid had already had her floating in the air along with Eridan. Furiously, and with no mercy, she began to beat them against each other. With every hit there was another cry, another crack, another wet smack from the blood the two of them were shedding.

Eventually, with one last, forceful smash, she let the corpses fall into a mangled pile of flesh, blood, and bone.

The Handmaid returned to the shadows, her work done, and waited for she knew who would be the next to come here and face her.  
~  
Linu Lalonde and Nepeta reached the throne room of the luminous castle on the Land of Darkness and Castles. Slowly, Linu sat and a passageway opened up. He was looking for the way to the core of his planet of nothing.

Both he and Nepeta made their way down the spiraling staircase, taking care of a few shadow knights here and there.

":33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Okay, so pretty much:  
> -Viky Lalonde (Hero of Heart; Land of Light and Forests) and Eridan are brutally murdered by the Handmaid
> 
> -Linu Lalonde (Hero of Void; Land of Darkness and Castles) and Nepeta are eradicated by Mindfang
> 
> -Readers find out that there are four 'pillars' 'holding up' the game. These are: Sari Harley, Alex Egbert, Viky and Linu Lalonde (they act as one), and Rain Strider. Three of these pillars have fallen


	17. temporalCancer

Rain and Karkat had made it to the Land of Gears and Miasma really late because shadow enemies kept blocking their way after they left the Land of Amps and Gods.

Shadow batters, dragons, cupids, and banshees prevented them going any further until each and every one who stood in their way was defeated. It was tedious and frustrating but the fact they made it was proof that maybe the two could easily dispatch of Rain's denizen.

They carefully made their way down the gears and, when they reached one, Rain stopped.

"WHAT'S WRONG?" Karkat asked worriedly.

"Nothing. This is where I first woke up when I got my amulet and the first note from you."

"OH..."

"C'mon, let's keep going."

Karkat nodded as the two ventured downward toward the core of the planet.

The cavern seemed to writhe but it was just the many connecting gears meshing together, turning each other. A thick fog surrounded the small pedestal on which a gear-shaped indention marked where Rain's amulet was supposed to go.

Before anything could jump out and surprise her, Rain drew her weapon capsule and released her blades from their prison. Karkat held his sickle readily in hand.

"so you finally decided to s)(ow up )(u)(?" asked a condescending voice from the shadows.

"Are you going to be a coward or are you going to come out and face me?" Rain countered. She was in no mood to deal with any coy, playful bullshit. She wanted to get this strife over with so that they could beat the game.

"impatient, my )(ero of TIM--E? t)(at's unbecoming of your aspect but, very well, if you wis)( to bask in my presence, so be it."

Out of the shadows, a very tall troll that showed striking resemblance to Feferi appeared. Her trident was longer than she was tall and Rain couldn't help but feel intimidated, though her face showed nothing.

"o)( my, anot)(er stider! )(ow D--ELICIOUS. dirk was no matc)( for me so )(ow will you be?" The Condesce laughed.

"Shut up and let's do this."

Rain made the first move but the Condesce blocked immediately. Rain jumped back to stand next to Karkat.

So, the strife commenced. It was long and hard and bloody. At some point, during a tension-filled moment, the Condesce plunged her trident right through Karkat's chest and the troll fell backwards, his candy red blood pooling around him.

"good t)(ing i killed )(im, t)(e dirty MUTANT BLOOD. )(e was destined to be --EX--ECUT--ED at some point."

"Kar...kat..." Rain muttered, but immediately regained her composure. She quickly turned on the Condesce and moved so fast it was as if time had slowed down around her. The Condesce was taken off guard and Rain took the time to jump up to the troll's height and bring her sword around, slicing the neck halfway through.

As fuchsia blood began to pour like a waterfall, Rain landed on her feet as the Condesce fell to her knees. In one swift movement, Rain brought the second blade of her sword around and completely chopped off the Condesce's head.

"Off with your head, evil queen." Rain spat, glaring at the headless corpse before rushing over to Karkat. Rain fell to her knees at his side. "Karkat? Karkat, can you hear me? You're going to be okay, I promise... I'll make everything okay..." Rain began to cry.

"R-RAIN......" was all Karkat got out before letting out a final, rattling breath, and dying.

An anger coursing through her veins like adrenaline, Rain stood, grabbing her discarded weapon capsule, and ripping the gear-shaped amulet from around her neck. She moved to the pedestal and shoved the amulet into the indention.

The entire land stopped moving then changed direction. The fog began to move into one spot, held in a small pocket of time. Glowing runes popped up all over the gears but they were in the language the trolls could read.

With a curt nod she left the cavern behind and made her way up to the portal. She stood in front of it and brought her wrist up to chest height and hit a button on the side of her watch, bringing up a small, holographic screen with eleven boxes, all showing static.

C'mon, guys, pick up... She pleaded silently. After five more minutes of waiting, no one answered and Rain canceled the video call. Letting out a heavy sigh, she stepped through one of the portals and found herself in the Land of Light and Forests.


	18. lovingAquarius

Rain immediately set off toward the giant tree she that had all the stairs carved around the outside. Why she was going that way, she had no idea, but that's where her gut told her to go, and, when her gut told her to do something, she did it. No questions asked.

It wasn't long before she found it and the entrance inside. She began running at this point, going down the tunnel, deep underneath the soil, deeper and deeper until, finally...

Rain couldn't stop herself from being sick. When she had successfully emptied her stomach of its contents and calmed down the dry heaving, she wiped her mouth on her sleeve and walked over to the two piles of mangled flesh and bone.

Viky and her guardian, Eridan...

Releasing her blades, she let out a growl. Rain was pissed and she was about to wreck someone's shit.

"SHOW YOURSELF, YOU MONSTER!" she shouted, hearing it echo as though the cavern went deeper than what was shown. A chuckling could be heard from deep inside.

"Y0U MUST C0ME AND FIND ME, HUMAN. A SEER CAN ALWAYS FIND WHAT THEY ARE L00KING F0R." replied a voice in a taunting tone.

Rain was about to tear through the rest of the cave to find Viky's denizen when she remembered something.

The amulet...

Rain reluctantly approached the pile she suspected was Viky. This was confirmed by the mass of tangled pink hair and human blood. Holding her breath and praying to the gods to keep her sanity, she reached into the pile with her hand and managed to produce a bloodstained amulet from it.

"Gross..." Rain groaned, her body threatening to start dry heaving. Instead, Rain wrapped the string attached to the amulet around her hand as she made her way down to find the troll who mutilated her friends.

"Y0U'RE GETTING CL0SER, HER0 0F TIME. BUT, CAN Y0U FIND WHAT Y0U CANN0T SEE?" the troll taunted. Her attempted mind games were so transparent that Rain simply shrugged it off. Dirk had played worse on her.

Finally, Rain found what she believed was the very end of the cavern. Farthest from her, she could orbs flashing different colors every now and then. They shook as a chuckle sounded from the same area.

"WILL Y0U BE ABLE T0 FIGHT ME, HUMAN? 0R WILL Y0U PARISH LIKE Y0UR FRIENDS?"

"You've killed enough people already. Let's go!"

In the dark, things were hard, and Rain knew there was no way to win. Suddenly, Rain was lifted up into the air by some invisible power. She felt the end was near but, she realized she wasn't moving anywhere.

She heard the sounds of frustration from below as the Handmaid tried to do something in the dark but, obviously, with no effect. Rain found she could move of her own free will inside the sphere of power the Handmaid had placed around her. Using her sword, she prodded at it and managed to break it.

Falling to her feet, she took the moment to attack and managed to at least injure the troll. The Handmaid growled and footsteps could be heard retreating to the farthest wall. Rain could see the eyes flashing their colors at her.

"WHY CAN I N0T M0VE Y0U 0NCE I'VE G0T Y0U?!"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Rain said, throwing her voice to make it sound like she was farther away as she moved closer to the Handmaid.

"I CAN LIFT Y0U 0NLY S0 FAR, AND THEN N0 M0RE! WHAT F0RCE BL0CKS ME?!"

"You've got issues lady. I haven't the foggiest idea what you mean." Once again, Rain threw her voice. She was a few feet to the left of the Handmaid.

Using all the stealth she was taught by her brothers, she brought her sword around and sliced into the Handmaid's stomach.

"S0... S0ME0NE HAS G0TTEN THE BEST... 0F THE... HANDMAID..."

Rain shoved harder and dug it all the way through. She heard the wet plops of both halves falling to the floor.

The amulet hanging from Rain's hand began to glow faintly, showing the dead troll that resembled Aradia. With a sniff of contempt, Rain turned on her heel and walked back to the main cavern where the pedestal awaited.

She approached it and looked down at the indention. With a quick glance at the piles that were her friends, she shoved the amulet in place and waited. The cavern began to have roots grow down and they covered all but the way out of the cavern. On every root, the glowing symbols of the troll language appeared, telling a story Rain could not read.

What was left of Viky and Eridan had disappeared in a flash of light and Rain made her way to the exit.

"Rest in peace..." she muttered as she left the cavern behind and made her way out of the tree and up the stairs to the portal.


	19. The One Who Gave Them Cancer/mindfulAries

Doc Scratch fumed at Rain's actions. She wasn't supposed to go and kill all the other denizens and try to avenge her friends. Rain was supposed to give up. Say "I can't do this. This is too much." and let the worst happen.

With a slight growl, he pressed a lime green button and watched the monitor, now all combined into one, to see what Rain would do.

He watched her answer, that hopeful gleam appearing.

"Hello?!" she asked frantically.

"Hello, human."

"Who's this?"

"That will come later. Right now you need to reevaluate what you're doing."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Are you really going to try and avenge your friends or are you going to let the inevitable happen?"

"Well, I'm avenging my friends of course!"

"But all you're doing is postponing your doom. Eventually, it will catch up to you and there will be no way for you escape."

"If I end up dying for trying to avenge my friends then so be it. I'll join them where they are."

"But do you really want to be a...martyr?"

"Here, if I do die, you can call me a martyr. But I'm doing this and no one, not even you, can stop me, okay?"

He watched as Rain hung up on him and kept climbing the stairs.

Maybe I can have some fun with this...  
~

 

Her mind whirling, Rain climbed her way through the portal and onto Kura's land. It didn't feel like all that long ago that the quiet girl had been there, travelling with Rain.

But now she's dead... Rain thought, looking around then taking the path she felt would take her where she needed to go. For no particular reason, she began to hum as she walked. She had no idea what she was humming but it sounded cool so she went with it.

At some point, a thought passed through her head that made her immediately stop her humming. She didn't want to think of them right now, she had bigger fish to fry.

Rain continued down the path until it split into two paths. She looked as far ahead as she could and picked the one that led to what looked like a cave in the face of a cliff.

To her surprise, what she found was the exact place she needed. Whatever Kura's land was, it certainly was magically in a really fucked up sense.

Rain slowly made her way into the cave and cautiously walked further and further, her sword at the ready. The path sloped downward and it wouldn't be long before Rain reached whatever awaited her in the cavern. Nothing could be worse than what she found on Viky's planet.

Rain shuddered as she remembered the sight. Only a TRUE monster could've been heartless enough to do something like that.

But if the Handmaid had been a monster... and if I defeated her... then what does that make me?

Rain decided it'd be best not to bother with that thought and pushed it out of her mind. When she felt she was getting close to the cavern, she put all her senses on high alert and cranked up her stealth.

When she reached the corner she'd have to go around to enter the core, she peeked around it and saw the enemy. He was having fun practicing with his harpoon gun by shooting at Kura and Aradia's corpses. He looked a lot like Eridan except cooler because he wasn't dressed as a lame ass hipster.

"Fishy's got style I see." she called out, hiding around the corner, cramming herself in the shadows of the niche. The troll looked up from his gun, having just loaded another harpoon, and scanned the room.

"vwwho is there"

"Damn, that wavy speech, though." Rain taunted. She watched the troll hold his gun at the ready and begin to walk around slowly.

"shovww yourself novww because you vwwont like it if i find you first"

"Whatcha gonna do if you find me first?"

"ill spear you then use your corpse for target practice"

"Well, like you said, you have to find me first. For the record, I was the best at hide-and-seek when we played it."

"vwwhat is this nonsense you speak of put a stop to your games before i find some inconceiwvvably slovww painful and cruel vwway to end them myself"

"You sure do talk big for someone who hasn't found me yet."

Suddenly, the troll came quickly around the corner and shot at her hiding spot. He had seen her but that's what she got for wanting to be able to keep and eye on him. If it wasn't for her amazingly unnecessary pirouette-flip-jump hybrid she would've been hit right in the chest.

Now I see why this was halfway necessary. Thanks, Dave.

Rain was falling for the landing so she pointed one blade of her sword straight down and, lo and behold, it got stuck right in the ground because the troll was smart enough to move.

She tugged at it as the troll took the time to load another spear into the harpoon. She had to move, leaving her beloved sword, so she wouldn't have her head taken off.

"you vwwont be able to escape me human no one has ewvver escaped me the mighty orphaner dualscar"

"Pretty lame to talk about yourself like that, man. You sounded so stupid." Rain said, trying to distract him long enough to find something to fight with.

"you knovww nothing you vwworthless human"

Dualscar was loading up another when Rain finally figured it out. She ripped the two spears out of the wall and held them at the ready. They weren't her sword, but they'd do.

She ducked as another spear flew over her head as she moved toward Dualscar. He could tell the situation this time was dire and frantically scrambled to grab another spear and load it. Rain threw one of the spears and it went right through his wrist, connecting it to the wall behind him.

Taking the time it'd take him to gather himself for her own purpose, she walked over and grabbed Kura's amulet. When she turned around, Dualscar had the gun pointed at her with his uninjured hand holding it up, ready to pull the trigger.

"say goodbye to your vwworthless life human"

"Tough chance, bitch." Rain said, throwing her remaining spear right through Dualscar's throat. He had pulled the trigger at the same time and Rain expected to have turned into a kebab but, she was still not a Strider-On-A-Stick. She stepped to the side and looked at the spear that was suspended in midair. Almost as if time had stopped but, only for the spear.

As soon as that idea crossed her mind, the spear clattered to the ground. The last few gargles that would mark the end of Dualscar's life sounded and Rain turned to look at him. She walked over and knelt by him.

"You brought this on yourself, you know. If you would've just let me do you in then you wouldn't have to endure this." A series of angry gargles followed. "Oh shut up." Rain stood and lifted her foot, bringing it down hard on Dualscar's head. A crack echoed through the cavern as blood began to pool out of that wound as well.

Kura's amulet, which Rain was still holding, began to glow and Rain went over to the pedestal. She placed the amulet in the indention and felt the land shift ever so slightly. With a sigh and a glance at Kura and Aradia's corpses, Rain managed to win her sword back from the ground and made her way out of the cave as the runes of the troll language began to glow on the walls.

She made it out of the cave safely and saw that the landscape had changed drastically. There was now just one continuous cliff surrounding the land between where Rain was, the portal she came through, and that which made up the distance to the portal Rain needed to go through. She noted the cliff was much higher up and was closer to the portal for ease of access.

Begrudgingly, Rain trudged across the landscape toward the cliff she needed to scale in order to reach the next portal. She found a zig-zagging path had formed so she wouldn't have to climb at least.

Though, she had to admit, she was pretty damn tired from everything that had happened. It had literally been an all day affair and she was drained.

Rain sat and looked up at the night sky. Leaning against the cliff, it wasn't long before she nodded off.


	20. The Giver of Time/shiningTaurus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **I know that any of you who actually decided to keep reading and are up to this point are probably quite mad at me or just upset but, hey, I told you, if you have a problem, let me know. Thank you for reading otherwise!**

Doc Scratch watched the monitor as it switched to his view of Derse, where Rain woke up. He'd nearly forgotten she'd been chained to Rexx's wall. Feeling generous, he hit a button and the chains released her. He couldn't help but laugh at her reaction to dream Rexx's head missing. She had no idea that dreamselves suffered the fate of their waking counterparts.

At some point, she regained that smug, stoic, Strider-ness that he hated and she looked right at him. It was almost as though she knew he was laughing at her misfortune, that he was watching her struggle to keep her sanity while she avenged her friends.

After putting up both of her middle fingers at him, showing she really did know, she made her way out of Rexx's room through the window. She did so enjoy flying.

Wouldn't it be funny if I were to take it away from her? Doc Scratch flipped a switch and watched as Rain fell through the air, hitting the ground hard enough to hurt, but not enough to seriously injure or kill.

He decided to give her a call and was surprised she answered.

"Still wanting to avenge those friends of yours?"

"You. Piece. Of. SHIT! I'm so glad you're getting a kick out of the death of all of my friends. JUST KNOW YOU'RE AT THE TOP OF MY SHIT LIST YOU MOTHER FUCKING HEARTLESS BASTARD! I'LL RIP OFF YOUR LEGS SO YOU CAN'T RUN WHILE I RIP THE ARMS FROM YOUR SOCKETS AND BEAT YOU WITH THEM. I'LL TEAR THE FUCKING HEAD FROM YOUR SHOULDERS AND-"

"That's all good and well but maybe you should just stick with what your doing now."

Doc Scratch immediately ended the call. Who knows how long she would've went on and she was seriously creeping him the fuck out.

He decided to give Rain her time to recuperate before she had to head out. Her murderous rampage was amusing to watch, despite the fact he was losing some of his best servants to her wrath.

However, the next one might just be her undoing. The Grand Highblood never ceased to amaze.  
~

Rain woke up feeling worse than when she had fell asleep. She was achy and tired and just wanted to curl up in her pillow cave back home...

But she couldn't go home until she won the game and she wouldn't sleep more than necessary until she had avenged her friends. With a stretch, she attached her weapon capsule to its holster and began the walk up the face of the cliff.

Eventually, Rain reached the top of the cliff and found the the portal was a little higher than her hand when she lifted her arms up. With a sigh, she pushed up from the ground and did another amazingly unnecessary pirouette-flip-jump hybrid to reach it.

Once she was sure her hands were secure, she pulled herself up through the portal and laid on the ground of Ward's land. She rolled away from the portal and stood up when she was a safe distance away.

Brushing herself off, she looked around at the giant bookcases and thought about how hard she and Kura had had it to just reach the portal. An idea struck her and, with great reluctance, she walked over to one of the bookcases and found sturdy foot and hand holds. Then, she climbed up the bookcase.

Rain was two-thirds of the way up when the sound of a call scared her and she nearly plummeted to the ground. She stopped climbing, and hit the button on her headset before continuing to climb.

"What the fuck do you want?"

"I was just wondering what you were doing. I hope you realize that climbing up the bookcase isn't going to take you to the core of this land."

"No shit, Sherlock, how'd you deduce that one?!"

"No need to be rude, I was just making sure you were well informed. But, why are you climbing up the bookcase?"

"So I can get a good look around. I thought you'd have figured it out and would want to make the planet tilt so I'd fall and die."

"I can't be all bad."

"You did NOT just say that to me."

"Well, if I could, I would, but I can't manipulate the lands. Fortunately for you or I would've just blown up everything."

"Now there's the dick I've come to know."

"I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't use vulgar language to refer to me."

"Fuck you and what you'd appreciate. Go to hell, you piece of shit."

The Master of Dicks hung up and left Rain to her thoughts. She just kept climbing, hand over hand, foot over foot, until, finally, she reached the top.

She sat down for a few minutes to catch her breath before standing up. She looked down at the maze before her. She bit her lip and followed some of the paths with her eyes until she found what she was looking for. There were some fallen bookshelves that made a pile with a single hole for and entrance.

Rain walked along the top of the bookshelves toward her destination. That is, until she realized something was following her. She glanced over her shoulder to see it. The shadowy figure of a minotaur was behind her. Slowly, she looked in front of her and took a deep breath to calm herself down.

Then, she turned around to face the beast and she could tell it was ready to run her over at any moment. Calmly, while trying not to make to make any sudden movements, she reached for her weapons capsule. So far so good.

She slid it out of its holster and slowly raised it slightly, hitting the button.

The transformation is what caused the beast to charge. Rain did yet another amazingly unnecessary pirouette-flip-jump hybrid and avoided being mowed down by the man-bull hybrid. She landed delicately behind the creature and took no time to run over and slice the creature's achilles on both legs, causing it to fall over the edge and plummet to the ground.

"Damn, better be careful from now on. That could've been me..." she muttered to herself before continuing on.

An hour and a few more minotaurs later, she had reached the point she'd need to descend at.

One of the bookshelves were leaning against the one she was on. Carefully, she stepped onto the sloping bookcase and slid on her feet down it until she reached the ground. Then, after a session of hyping herself up for what might come, she made her way into the cave-like hole and went on to the core of the planet.

When she finally reached the cavern, not a living soul was to be found. The bodies of Ward and Tavros were sprawled on the ground, both of them with their faces smashed in badly. There were drawings in their blood all over the place. One word appeared repeatedly.

Honk?

Rain walked over to Ward's corpse and reached down for the orb that was his amulet when a club was held under her chin and made her look up. She straitened herself up and readied her sword. What she saw was a troll who looked like Gamzee.

"aNd JuSt WhAt Do We HaVe HeRe?"

"A human?" Rain suggested, sensing the unpredictability of this troll.

"aH, yEs A hUmAn... aNd WhAt MiGhT aNoThEr HuMaN bE dOiNg HeRe?"

"Trying to... Uh..."

"dOn'T tElL mE yOu'Re HeRe To TrY aNd AwAkEn ThIs PlAnEt In PlAcE oF tHe HeRo Of LiGhT?"

"Well, I guess that's what you could say I'm trying to do..." Rain prepared to move and fight. 'The best offense was a good defense but don't forget to kick some ass while your at it' is what Dave had taught her.

The troll took the club away and laughed a bit manically. Rain slowly reached back down to get the orb but a club smacked her hand away.

"nOw, NoW, dOn'T bE tOo AnXiOuS tO gEt RiD oF mE. i CoUlD bE a FrIeNd To YoU aNd AlL yOu HaVe To Do Is PrOmIsE tO oBeY mY eVeRy CoMmAnD."

"Okay, sounds cool I guess." Rain was trying to play along because this guy had serious power. And a bipolar disorder from hell.

"gOoD, nOw PiCk Up ThE oRb."

Rain slowly reached down and removed the orb from around Ward's neck and stood back up with it in hand.

"tHeRe YoU gO. nOw, GeT rEaDy To HaVe YoUr BlOoD pAiNt ThE wIcKeD pIcTuReS oF tHiS mIrThFuL mEsSiAh!"

The troll swung one of his clubs at Rain's head and she ducked and made a slice at one of his legs. She got a deep cut in but it didn't stop him. He swung his other club down at her and she deftly moved to the side, stabbing him in the side with her sword. Still, it didn't affect him.

He swung closer to her midsection and she did a fourth amazingly unnecessary pirouette-flip-jump hybrid and managed to slice over one of his eyes. Again, he didn't falter. As she was falling back to the ground, he took her off guard and swung a club at her. She flew into one of the walls hard enough to where she might've broken or, at least, cracked a rib or two.

When she stood up, she had Tavros' Bronze blood all over her. She held her side with the hand holding the amulet and leaned against the wall, her other hand clutching her sword. The troll drew near her, grinning insanely.

As he began to swing a club at her she dodged, pushing up as hard as she could from the ground and managed to spin around in midair to where she landed on the troll's shoulders.

He began to try to hit her with his clubs but only did damage to himself. At some point, Rain got an idea from something Karkat had told her.

Troll horns are very sensitive. There are nerves running into them so that if you touch a troll's horns, they'll feel it. She gripped one of his horns in her hand and felt him shutter slightly and his attacks decrease in ferocity. She quickly yanked it toward her and, with a loud crack, majority of it broke off in her hand, causing the troll to let out a weird mixture between a howl, a growl, and a laugh.

Securing her legs around the troll's neck she leaned back and let herself dangle. Then, she plunged the horn right through his back into his chest. She did the same on the other side with her sword to make sure that she got the heart. Karkat hadn't told her if a troll's heart was on one side or the other.

Removing her sword, she jumped off the troll's shoulders as he fell back, dead. Ward's orb began to glow in her hand and she placed it in the hole on the pedestal. The land shifted beneath her feet as troll runes glowed on every surface.

Rain left the cavern and managed to make it back to the surface. The entire place looked the same except the glowing troll runes and...

There were glowing arrows of multiple colors pointing in the direction of whatever you want. A sign showed where each color arrow led and Rain followed the blue ones to the portal where she'd get to the Land of Darkness and Castles.


End file.
